In the Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the Holy Father urges “to the victims of environmental and celestial injustice”, with an ecological conversion and a conversion of our hearts, lives and public behavior. .
Johan Pacheco
“How can we contribute to the great river of justice and peace in this time of creation?” Pope Francis asks in a message published this May 25, for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will take place on September 1. 2013
The argument for the time of ecumenical creation is “Justice and peace flow”, inspired by the prophet Amos: “The law flows like water, and justice like an inexhaustible torrent” (5:24).
The Supreme Pontiff Francis expresses this way: “Amos expressed this image, he teaches what God wants.” God wants justice to reign, which is necessary for our lives as children in the image of God, as water is for our bodily salvation.
“God wants,” insists the Pontiff, “and expects everyone to be just in all circumstances; they always strive to live according to their own laws and therefore ensure that life flourishes fully.
Above all, he invites us to seek the Kingdom of Heaven, so that “a right relationship with God, humanity and nature, then justice and peace can flow, like an inexhaustible stream of pure water, the soul of humanity and all creatures”, he says.
Maternal pulsation of the Earth
In a message, the Supreme Pontiff on the shores of Lake Santa Ana in the province of Alberta (Canada), in July 2022: “Immersed in creation is another pulsation that we can hear, the maternal pulsation of the earth. . And like the pulsation of children, from the mother’s womb, with their mothers agrees, so that in order for man to grow it is necessary to combine the rhythms of life with those of creation which gives us life.
Thus, the Supreme Father encourages us at the time of Creation to “stop in these heartbeats: ours, our mothers’ and grandmothers’, the heartbeat of the created and the heartbeat of God.”
War against creation
And he denounces today that there is no harmony between justice and peace: “Many are forbidden to drink in this vegetated river. So let’s hear the call to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, and end this senseless war against creation.”
He also points out some of the triggers for this war against creation: We have consumed the rapacity, the increased use of fossil fuels and the cutting of forests.
“In addition, predatory industries consume and pollute drinking water sources with extreme practices such as hydraulic fracturing, oil and gas extraction, uncontrolled mega-extraction projects and intensive livestock farming,” the message reads.
With the invitation to “join hands and take courageous steps so that justice and peace flow through the Earth”, he asks: How can we contribute to the great flow of justice and peace in this time of creation? What can we do, especially with the Christian Churches, to heal our common home so that it can live again?
coaching conversion
Pope Francis’ response is vehement: “we decide that our hearts, our ways of life and our policies govern our society.”
In order to transform “hearts”, the Pope mentions the essential element of the “ecological conversion”, which Saint John Paul II – recalling Francis in his message – urged us to complete: “the renewal of our relationship with creation, so that we act. but rather to guard the sacred gift of the Creator.
Regarding the conversion of “lives”, the Supreme Pontiff invites us to admire the Creator and his creation with pleasure and then: “Let us repent of our ecological crimes”.
“By the grace of God, let us use ways of life – Francis suggests – in which they involve less waste and less unnecessary consumption, especially where the production processes are toxic and unstable.”
Not for the exploitation of fossil fuels
And for the revolution of “public politics” he calls on world leaders who will meet at the COP28 summit, at the end of this year 2013;
“Let them listen to the science and start a quick and fair transition to the end of fossil fuels. According to the commitments of the Paris Agreement to control the risk of global warming, it is a contradiction to agree to the continued exploitation and expansion of the fossil fuel infrastructure. We raise our voices to prevent this injustice to the poor and to our children, who will bear the worst consequences of climate change. I call on all people of good will to act on these principles based on society and nature.
On creation and synodality
Likewise, the duty of the Catholic Church is recalled by synodality: “Just as a river is the source of life in the surrounding environment, so our synodal Church must be the common source of life for our home and for all its inhabitants. And just as the river gives life to all kinds of animals and plants, the synodal Church must also sow life and justice and peace wherever he arrives.
Pope Francis ends his message by wishing “that in this time of creation, as Christ’s followers in a common synodal journey, we live, work and pray so that the common house may live again”.
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
